Ciena Clocks 26% Revenue Growth In Q4, Beats Consensus; Plans Share Buyback Up To $1B

Ciena Corp CIEN reported fourth-quarter FY21 revenue growth of 25.7% year-on-year to $1.04 billion, beating the consensus of $1.03 billion.
Segments: Total Networking Platforms revenue rose by 30.5% Y/Y to $828.8 million, and Total Global Services increased 7.6% Y/Y to $126.8 million.
Margins: The adjusted gross margin contracted 320 bps to 46.3% as costs surged 33.1% Y/Y.
The adjusted operating margin expanded 100 bps to 16.8% as operating costs rose 9.3% Y/Y.
The non-GAAP EPS of $0.85 was in-line with the consensus.
Ciena held $1.7 billion in cash and equivalents and generated $254.9 million in operating cash flow.
Share Buyback: On December 1, 2021, the board authorized up to $1.0 billion to repurchase, replacing the previous share repurchase authorization.
Ciena aims to enter into an accelerated share repurchase (ASR) arrangement to repurchase $250 million shares under the new program. The final settlement of the ASR will likely complete in Q2 of FY22.
"Our strong financial results exceeded our expectations in the fourth quarter and for the full fiscal year, driven by continued execution of our strategy and our demonstrated ability to manage supply chain challenges," said Gary Smith, President, and CEO, Ciena.
Price Action: CIEN shares traded higher by 0.32% at $62.4 in the premarket session on the last check Thursday.

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